Anthrax have had a covers EP in the works for some time now, but the mini-effort will officially make its way to retailers this year. It's called Anthem, and it drops March 18.

The six-song set was initially teased as a bonus disc for a deluxe edition of their 2011 set Worship Music, but the band have opted to issue the EP separately. Some of the redone cuts include the titular track, which was originally performed by Rush; AC/DC's "TNT"; and Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak." Other artists honoured by the Big Four players include Boston, Journey and Cheap Trick. You can see the tracklisting down below.

"It was a lot of fun, especially because a lot of those [songs] aren't, I guess, normal for us or like so much of our repertoire — although they are because they're songs we all knew," guitarist Scott Ian recently told Billboard. "Maybe on paper the idea of us doing something like that seems weird, until you hear them and then it makes sense. And [vocalist] Joey [Belladonna]'s performance on the Journey song, specifically, really blows my mind."

As previously reported, Anthrax will be heading out on the road as part of the "Metal Alliance Tour," which will also feature sets from Exodus, High on Fire, Municipal Waste and Holy Grail. The trip's lone Canadian date is scheduled at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom on March 30.

While we know that Anthrax will play their 1987 set Among the Living in full, it's possible they'll sprinkle the set with some covers as well. One thing we do know for sure is that longtime guitarist Rob Caggiano will not be onstage, having recently split from the group. In his stead, the band will have Shadows Fall six-stringer Jon Donais as a temporary fill-in.

"Jon is a bro and he's also a total fucking ripper," Ian said in a statement. "I've worked with him twice before on side projects and he tears it up. I'm excited to have him on my right burning up the stage with Anthrax. 2013's gonna be a good year."